REVIEWING ALL THE BEST PICTURE NOMINEES!

The powers that be at the Academy have spoken, and these are the nine films they've chosen as the finest of the year. I have my beef with a couple picks, but I can't say there's a truly weak one in the bunch, unlike past years (here's looking at you Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and War Horse). To celebrate, I chose the best quotes from each of the films, a brief 6 word review on them, and their best scenes, no spoilers I assure you. Enjoy!

12 YEARS A SLAVE
BEST QUOTE:
Northup: I survive. I will not fall into despair! I will offer up my talents...I will keep myself hardy until freedom is opportune.
SUMMARY: Heart wrenching because it actually happened.
BEST SCENE: After a certain character attempts to hang Northup unsuccessfully, Solomon simply stands there, with no help whatsoever from anyone, dangling from a noose, trying to make his feet connect with the muddy ground. It's horrifying.

AMERICAN HUSTLE
BEST QUOTE:
Irving: She was the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate.
SUMMARY: Acting's great, jazzy music, pretty overrated.
BEST SCENE: When DiMaso, the mayor and the faux sheikh meet mob boss Tellegio. Cool cameo and all around well placed tension.

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Barkhad Abdi in his BAFTA-winning role as Muse

BEST QUOTE:
Muse: Maybe in America, Irish. Maybe in America. (After Phillips tells him there has to be more to life)
SUMMARY: Greengrass delivers another superior hostage tale.
BEST SCENE: The last five minutes on the boat...enough said. Hanks was snubbed!!!




DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
BEST QUOTE:
Ron: Congratulations. (After hospital roommate Rayon flamboyantly introduces himself) 
SUMMARY: Transformative AIDS performances = deserved Oscar gold.
BEST SCENE: When Ron and Rayon shake hands, which turns into an embrace. Trust me, it's a miracle after you've seen Woodroof in the first half of the film.

GRAVITY
BEST QUOTE:
Stone: I hate space.
SUMMARY: You'll feel like you're up there.
BEST SCENE: When the space debris initially hits Kowalski and Stone. Or any shot of Earth, enough to give anyone vertigo.
HER
BEST QUOTE:
Theodore: Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel. And from here on out, I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.
SUMMARY: "Siri" love story's actually very original.
BEST SCENE: When Theodore first downloads Samantha. You can tell he's reluctant to talking to this OS, but his eyes show natural curiosity.

NEBRASKA
BEST QUOTE:
Kate: There's Woody's little sister, Rose. She was only nineteen when she was killed in a car wreck near Wausa. What a whore! (While visiting a cemetery full of Woody's relatives)
SUMMARY: Nothing in this movie feels inauthentic.
BEST SCENE: When David's hick cousins ask him how long it took him to get to Nebraska. Hilarious and genuine.

PHILOMENA

Young Philomena holding her child

BEST QUOTE:
Philomena: If God were in there, he'd say you were a [expletive] idiot!
SUMMARY: Sweet true story, avoids over-sentimentalization.
BEST SCENE: When Philomena describes (in depth) one of her romance novels to Martin. It shows two character traits of the duo: the naivety and innocence of Philomena, and the growing patience and acceptance of the old woman for Martin.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
BEST QUOTE: (I had to pick one that wasn't riddled in profanity)
Jordan: Sell me this pen. (Belfort's way of seeing if someone can be as persuasive and conniving as him)
SUMMARY: Over the top Scorsese joy ride.
BEST SCENE: Has to be when Jordan's trying to get to his car after taking the expired Quaaludes. It goes with the over-the-top satirical nature of the film, and requires a committed act of comic genius I didn't know DiCaprio possessed.